Unhalad's knock knock knocking at your door...!

[groundrules]

Last few steps of the Sa-Hareth stretch come with Unhalad's mini 16-17 June siege event and the ensuing few days of marauding. Feel free to use that post as a log base, or do your own thing, and discuss any character plans here.

Many thanks to Kalyn, who is lending us Winnie as effective live bait over the event! She won't... regret it...

If you want to have characters severely wounded or killed, there will be more healers and necromancers available in both options for the upcoming arc — for a fee.

The sorceress Karsa will be available on premise once she enters the farmhouse, and you are welcome to NPC her helping your character's plans. To give you an idea, Karsa's primary offensive skillset is fire, so be careful what you have her do in closed quarters. She will not be able to teleport anyone out because the swarm of undead surrounding the farmhouse make it difficult to 'land' safely.

As a result of this... unfortunate domestic development, the Merchant won't be presenting his options on the 15th as initially scheduled, and this will have to be delayed to 17 June. But! Characters should still be out of Sa-Hareth by 21-22 June. Goodbye, winter wasteland. We barely knew ye.

QUESTIONS THREAD

Comments

[groundrules]

No, I'm not! But I want to make sure you are clear on what it entails, because you were operating on the belief that he's a ghost — he isn't. If that changes anything on your side, let me know. Hence, doublechecking!

[darkeststars]

All righty, in that case! Do I want my character to make a super ultra bad decision spur of the moment power grab of something he super doesn't understand, half out of spite toward someone he hates and half hoping to get a leg up on surviving in this harsh environment?

I really can't think of anything more in-character for the Sith Inquisitor than that lmfao SOOO, GUESS WE'RE DOING THIS

I'm mildly terrified of this bad decision but how can I pass up something so juicy lol. I understand in the short term this puts him and maybe the group in extra physical danger, and I'm prepared to have him deal with that ICly, and I understand I am inviting a lot of shit upon Arche's head lmao. "I did this thing in a scramble for power and it had horrible unintended consequences and now I have to scramble to fix it" is very much his brand...

If this leads to stuff like unwanted extra attention on the rest of the group from Unhalad's brothers in the future, I'm also prepared to have him deal with that even if it means stuff like stepping away from the party for a while. Just vaguely imagining what sort of thing might be in his future at any rate.

[groundrules]

Cool! So, there'll be environment-dependent consequences (I may have to give you some local instructions), but for a timeline:








EVERYONE READING THIS WHO DOESN'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, DO NOT SCROLL







Unhalad is starvation. In particular, the hunger of the miners stranded in the mines, possessing their dead bodies. It is a manifestation of loneliness, need, decay and despair, triggered by starvation. He propagates by dragging people in the mines and subjecting them to similar circumstances, triggering this experience within them.

Inevitably, he will, over time, start to prompt that in Arche's body. Over the next three months, he will start to feel a gradual but growing feeling of unfulfilled hunger, first. Then, nippy, no matter how much he eats. Then, exacerbating into pangs, which, depending on his focus, will start to lead him to distraction.

No other physical effects yet, but likely, unless Unhalad is extirpated from him, Arche will start growing gaunt in the 3-6month period, as well as hearing random snippets from the last moments of those who died to hunger in the mines.

[darkeststars]

Interesting. Okay. That makes a lot of sense of course and I cannot believe my character specifically is the one to get mixed up in this specific thing lmao holy shit



SPOILERS AHEAD Y'ALL



For my version of the character I've always had it that he has a bit of a thing about food because he went hungry very often in his youth, actually to the point that it stunted his growth... what are the odds... lmao...

So I imagine it will take Arche a little bit of time to start noticing those physical effects, but will he notice anything he expects to find -- i.e. using Unhalad to supplement his own raw power, or being able to communicate with it in any way?

[groundrules]

Part of why Unhalad's people are so much less adept than Anurr's is that they're fuelled by hunger — a relatively new, circumstantial development, created in very particular starvation conditions. It's not old enough to have crystallised as a cohesive personality.

So, it can't be spoken to, exactly, because it doesn't exist in the same way as a singular entity might. It is a sum of victims and their consciousness. It only takes territory out of the desperation to never hunger again, effectively. Arche can make a valiant attempt to speak to it, but he is likelier to end up communicating with some of the dead who perished in the mines, remembering their last moments of hunger or dread. Not to Unhalad itself.

If he focuses extensively, he might reach Unhalad, but Unhalad is effectively an incentive, a driver. It's animalistic. A poor conversationalist.

[darkeststars]

Okay, super interesting, thank you. I think that's all I've got for now but I'll be by if anything else comes to mind.

[groundrules]

[darkeststars]

[groundrules]

A single tear was shed.